October, 2002

Above & Beyond Campaign
by Darrell Cole

Above & Beyond Campaign supporters (l-r) Blake Daley, Stu Pipe, Phyllis Cameron, Roger Bacon and Jerry Hallee are shown above marking the day the fund-raising effort surpassed the $6-million mark. The sign which was located on the South Albion Street, kept the community updated throughout the campaign.

They said it couldn't be done, but in the end Cumberland County proved to be the little community that could.

When efforts to construct Cumberland County's new regional hospital began in the early 1990's there ware plenty of skeptics, including those in government, who never figured a population of just over 35,00 could raise $7.5 million. The effort of the community were realized earlier this week when the state-of-the-art Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre opened its doors.

"It's going to be a great day for all of Cumberland County when it opens because the people will be able to see the fruits of their labour," inaugural Highland View Regional Hospital foundation chair Roger Bacon said. "They're the ones who contributed to make it a success whether through taxes at the municipal level or through gifts they gave themselves. Everyone participated in the campaign directly and indirectly and that's what makes this thing all the more special."

When the veteran politician and former premier announced in 1993 he was stepping down from politics, he never envisioned being pert of the campaign to build a new regional hospital. At the same time, he wanted to continue serving his community in some capacity. "I had just retired from politics after 35 years, including 12 at the municipal level and 23 in provincial politics. To be truthful, I didn't know how to respond when Blake (Daley) approached me about heading a new foundation. I said the most important person in this decision would be my wife because she'd spent the better part of 35 years alone," Bacon said. "We talked about it at the supper table over a few weeks. I really thought it was something I could contribute to locally and it would give me something to do after being in public life so long."

However, before continuing Bacon said the foundation had to get a letter of commitment from the Department of Health pledging to build the hospital if the foundation raised 25 per cent of the cost. While it took several months and numerous phone calls to Halifax, the department committed to the project with the stipulation the community commit to raising 25 per cent of $30 million, which was the estimated cost of the hospital at the time based on the price of the new hospital in Yarmouth. "At the time they probably didn't think we could do it," Bacon said. "In a sense that probably made me more determined than ever to do it. I had people coming up to me saying 'Bacon, you're crazy, you'll never get $7.5 million out of this community.' It was a challenge."

After deciding to take on that challenge, Bacon and the hospital board sat down to go over a list of potential volunteers. The name that quickly surfaced as chair of the Above & Beyond Campaign was Jerry Hallee, who at the time was running Poly Cello. For Hallee the project was a chance for the community to show its spirit.

Shown above are members of the Above & Beyond Campaign board including: (l-r) stu Pipe, Garry Stack, Blake Daley, Andrea Jolly, Morris Haugg, Phyllis Cameron, Dr. Barry MacLeod, Jean Milner, Marg Smith, Doug Steeves, Mark Milner, Kathy Maltby and Roger Bacon.

At first the situation wasn't too encouraging after a consultant hired by the former hospital board at Highland View determined the community couldn't raise the required 25 per cent. After all, the recession was in full swing and several local companies were struggling to keep their doors open.

The chance to prove Cumberland County deserved better was too powerful an opportunity to pass up for Hallee and other campaign supporters.

"We needed a new hospital and a lot of people were passionate about it," Hallee said. "He just evaluated whether or not this community could raise the $7.5 million, the thing he didn't realize was the people here knew we needed a new hospital and were passionate about supporting good causes."

The one thing that gave Hallee a lot of faith was a message Betty Fox gave in the early 1980's after son Terry died before ending his Marathon of Hope. "His mother had a record of all the donations given across the country up until the time he wasn't able to continue any longer. Next to his hometown, Cumberland County was the highest donor across the country," Hallee said. "For me it was Terry Fox's mother who had convinced me we could do it. That's one of the reasons why I accepted the challenge from Roger Bacon."

For Stu Pipe, who took over as chair after Hallee ran successfully for Amherst's mayoralty in 1997, there were some doubts early on. But he, too, felt the community would be up to the challenge. "I was quite confident we could do it because Amherst had a history and reputation for getting behind projects such as this, Everyone knew we needed a new hospital and were prepared to meet that challenge," Pipe said. "It wasn't an impossible task to us."

Leading up to the campaign kickoff, members of the foundation and fledgling campaign committee met with each of the county's five municipal units to introduce them to the project and its benefits while at the same tine pitching the campaign to service clubs such as the Lions, Knights of Columbus and Rotary. The Municipality of Cumberland and towns of Amherst, Springhill, Oxford and Parrsboro were asked to contribute half of the community commitment through a funding formula based on population. When Amherst and the county both agreed to support the project, campaign officials knew then they were on their way.

While the county and Amherst both agreed without hesitation, it was a harder sell for the other municipal units. Hallee vividly remembers one public meeting in Springhill at which time he was peppered by residents upset Amherst failed to respond to their requests when All Saints was being renovated several years before. "I can remember the challenge I had in Springhill," Hallee said. "They had just built a new hospital several years before that without any help from Amherst. They were waiting for me, but I can't remember ever giving a presentation that I enjoyed as much as that one."

Although campaign officials attempted to stress the new hospital would serve everyone's needs, the message was overshadowed by the province's decision to regionalise the health care system and take power away from small community health boards. In the end, Springhill, Parrsboro and Oxford all residents and organizations in each of those communities made individual contributions and pledges.

While there were moments both before and after the campaign officially kicked off in June, 1996 in which Bacon was worried about the success of the campaign he never lost faith in the community and the campaign volunteers. "We had an amazing group of 40-50 volunteers who went out there and did their thing," Bacon said, adding there were hundreds if not thousands more who lent a hand in any way possible. "Sure there were times when they were told no or didn't get as much as they planned, but no one lost sight of the goal. They were committed to the campaign and making this thing a reality."

Numerous community organizations mad pledges to the project and many fund-raisers, big and small, were held to aid Above & Beyond. To spread the enthusiasm outside the Amherst area, the campaign team itself hit the road and traveled from one end of Cumberland County to the other.

"We sent out letters containing a pamphlet and a balloon in the mail to all residents in the county and the five towns. We asked those interested in donating to the campaign to blow up the balloon and put by their front door," Bacon said. "As we drove from community to community we could not get over the amount of support there was out there for the campaign. Everyone sensed the need for a new hospital."

Campaign volunteers realized the significance of the project and opportunity it presented, said Bacon, stressing that to wait or put it off simply wasn't an option since the government might not be willing five years later to make the same commitment. And, judging by the present climate of downsizing and budget consciousness, Bacon is doubtful the government would make that same promise today.

One of the highlights of the campaign to Pipe was the hospital staff's contribution to Project Green in which they donated $125,000 to the effort. "They stepped right up and pledged their support for the project," Pipe said. "These weren't the doctors. They were the employees in the kitchen, the laundry, housekeeping, maintenance, the lab and so on." Pipe was also encouraged by the number of leading individuals and businesses that came forward in the early stages of the campaign with large commitments. "It sure made it easier when we went out into the community beating on doors asking for support," he said.